episode_0091

“Who are you looking for?”

“I want to find a Gold-ranked adventurer named Milaia.”

Finally able to wrap up the chaotic situation, we could return to the main topic.

Mariel looked puzzled.

“Are you sure that’s okay? I thought you would naturally want someone more vigorous, but…”

“What are you thinking…”

“Of course, I thought you would be after the world’s greatest magic researcher and the most beautiful woman.”

“…”

Well, objectively speaking, Mariel couldn’t deny that she wasn’t a beauty.

But watching her actions and hearing her words, even with a pretty face, she managed to diminish her charm.

No, I’m getting off track again.

This is not the time to say these things.

“Ah… Anyway, I hope you can help find that person. You know you don’t have the right to refuse, right?”

“Ugh… Am I really being used to find someone? I want to do something more productive.”

“Your work here doesn’t seem very productive either.”

“Why are you saying that! Even my ‘Guardian No. 1’ gets criticized like that!”

That ‘Guardian No. 1’ fell apart when a gust of wind knocked it over.

I sighed as I watched Mariel complain with flailing arms.

“The person we’re looking for left with a hero to unclaimed land, and that’s all the information we have. Since Mariel is a great magic researcher, she must have a way to find that person, right?”

I subtly praised Mariel’s pride as a magic researcher and asked.

Since the narrator mentioned that she had a way, it must be true.

“Looking for someone who became lost in unclaimed land? Hmm…”

Mariel’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

I feel uneasy when she makes that expression.

“Not lost, but… will you help?”

“We made a promise, so of course! I also wanted to test something.”

“Test something?”

“It’s nothing special. Anyway, I’ll gladly go with you! I need to change clothes and get ready, so wait for me!”

With that, Mariel went back into the mansion.

Wasn’t she just supposed to give us the location?

…She’s going with us?

I didn’t expect her to accompany us, but it might actually work out well.

I waited outside the mansion for Mariel to finish getting ready.

***

To find Milaia’s location, I decided to organize a search party with Mariel’s help.

Since we might have to face monsters due to Milaia’s expected location, there was a high possibility of encountering powerful demons.

In the worst-case scenario, we might have to face a strong demon.

Once we join forces with Milaia, she herself is like a one-person extermination squad, so we shouldn’t worry too much.

But since the narrator directly warned that her life was in danger, it was clear that she would be in some kind of situation where she needed help.

With Mariel joining us, it seemed like a good idea to gather more people.

“Hmm? You’re looking for Milaia? Is there a special reason?”

“Milaia thinks I’m dead. She left with a hero to subdue the Demon King, so I want to let her know I’m alive before she gets too far. I also have something to say.”

I told Algot about it, hoping to get his cooperation.

I couldn’t just say, “Because the narrator said so,” as the reason for looking for Milaia, so I made up a plausible excuse.

Algot looked very interested after hearing my explanation.

“Did you have a deep connection with that Milaia, Yunoa?”

“Not a deep connection, but… it’s a bit of a unique relationship.”

“Hmm…”

“So, I’m thinking of going to look for her now, but there’s a possibility that there might be a battle. I’m gathering people to join the search party and help out. What about Alcott? Even if he doesn’t go himself, as the guild master, he should be able to find someone to help, right?”

I asked Alcott.

If she cooperated, she would definitely be one of the most reliable allies.

Because she had both power and influence.

But Alcott shook her head.

“No, it’s also an unofficial matter… and it’s difficult for me to leave the guild empty. But Milaia seems interested.”

It seems like it’s a lost cause.

I can understand Alcott’s position.

It was true that there wasn’t much of an excuse to mobilize other adventurers under the authority of the guild master.

It was also a fact that suddenly going to find Milaia, who had left with only a few people, would seem like a personal matter to others, even though it was natural for me, who knew the contents of the narration.

“You said you were going with Mariel, right? I can’t help directly this time, but if anything happens, please contact me through Mariel. If something happens that the guild can handle, we will respond. Mariel has a means of contacting me quickly, no matter how far apart we are.”

Alcott said to me.

I had to be satisfied with this for now.

Just having a means to contact the guild and deal with any emergencies was an additional safety measure.

After receiving Alcott’s promise of rear support, I found Failpe next.

Failpe met me in front of the adventurer guild.

The first thing that caught my eye was still her enormous bow.

Unlike when she used a dagger, she was now able to handle requests on her own.

Honestly, I had thought at least once that I wanted to see her using that huge bow in action.

I briefly explained my plan to Failpe, that I was going to find Milaia, and asked if she could help.

After listening to all my explanations, Failpe blinked and nodded.

“Senpai needs my help?”

“Yes, there aren’t many people I can ask for help since it’s not a request.”

“If I can be of help, I’ll do whatever it takes!”

It was such a refreshing response.

With Mariel, Failpe, me, and Shari, who was always by my side, that made four of us, even though combat would be difficult.

Since it wasn’t a subjugation party, I thought this would be enough.

“Yunoa’s judgment to gather people to find Milaia was excellent for someone as incompetent as him.

But time was running out.

If Yunoa wanted to save Milaia’s life, he needed to hurry a little.”

The narration warned me.

Time was running out.

If I was late, would Milaia really die?

That Milaia… dying…

I couldn’t imagine it, but the narration had never been wrong about anyone other than me.

I finished recruiting the search party to find Milaia and decided to leave immediately.

* * *

In order to find Milaia, we headed back to the capital Pifnel at Mariel’s request.

Just getting from Kubel to Pifnel would take quite some time, so with the warning from the narration that time was running out, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“So… what’s the plan to find Milaia? Do we have to start from the capital?”

Inside the carriage heading to Pifnel, I asked Mariel.

“Ho ho ho, isn’t this the starting point for the person we’re looking for! Normally, you wouldn’t be able to feel it at all, but the traces of the magic a person possesses remain where they have passed! If we departed from the capital with the hero, we can follow those traces!”

“Traces remain?”

Although I have the ability to sense magic around me, I have never felt such traces before.

If that were possible, I could have used it effectively when searching for Meruru.

“Of course, people can’t feel it. But the magic I’m researching has a sensitivity to magic that is three thousand times higher! We just have to follow that!”

“Three thousand times sensitivity?!”

“You probably won’t understand even if I explain it now. I’ll show you when we arrive!”

Mariel said confidently.

Three thousand times sensitivity to magic, if I think about the amount of magic I usually feel in the air in my head.

If I think that it becomes three thousand times, I feel like I might lose my mind.

Well, for now, I have no choice but to trust Mariel.

“Is Mariel a adventurer?”

Felfi, who was watching the conversation from the side, asked.

Mariel looked at Felfi and said, “I’m not an adventurer. I am the greatest magic researcher in the world and a super beautiful magician.”

“Ah… I see……”

After Felfi responded with a soulless expression, she looked at me.

I felt like her facial expression was asking, ‘Who is this strange person?’

Sorry, Felfi.

This person is just like this.

* * *

After traveling by carriage for several days, we arrived in Pifnel.

Finding the location where Milaia left was not difficult.

It was the same as the location where the hero departed to subdue the demon king.

It would be more accurate to start tracking from the direction of the central church, but since we couldn’t enter the inner fortress, we decided to track the path where the hero last passed as the starting point.

But can we really find Milaia this way?

If it weren’t for the narration, I would have felt like I was wasting my time.

Mariel, holding a staff engraved with runic characters, said to me, “Ho ho ho, take a good look.”

Then she raised the staff high and recited a spell in an inaudible voice.

Blue magic began to gather at the end of the staff and gradually took on a certain form.

“This is……”

“Di… Disgusting.”

Felfi took a step back with a disgusted expression.

What Mariel summoned with magic was an eyeball as big as a person’s head.

It was so vivid that it felt grotesque just to look at it.

“This is my summon with three thousand times magic sensitivity! I call it ‘Eyeball’!”

Mariel said proudly, puffing out her chest.

Honestly… it was so grotesque that it was hard to look at it straight.

Could they not adjust the appearance of the summon to be less repulsive?

Well, as long as it performs well, it doesn’t matter.

Thinking that, Mariel made a request to me.

“Alright, Yunoa! Think of the person you want to find vividly in your mind and touch the Eyeball!”

“What?”

“You are the only one close to the person you want to find. By touching the Eyeball while vividly thinking of that person, the Eyeball can follow the magic.”

“Touch it…?”

“Think of the person you want to find as vividly as possible, and touch the Eyeball. Don’t take your hand off until I say so!”

It doesn’t seem like a joke.

I looked at the ‘Eyeball’ with a blank expression.

I can see a sticky, slimy liquid flowing down the surface of the eyeball.

“Sigh….”

I reached out my hand to the eye monster with my eyes tightly shut, picturing Mila’s face in my mind.